Top 3 things I hate about living in the modern age

There are facets of modern society that irk me. I’m not sure how I’d change them if I could, or if I’m the only one who feels this way, but they make me feel like a lost little alien who got stranded on a planet she doesn’t understand. And worse, I find myself behaving and partaking in the things I hate because, after all, I do live on this planet. I also know a lot of people who simply don’t even question anything. I bring it up to them, and they give me this “Wtf are you talking about” face. Or they tell me these things are actually positive. Perhaps things have always worked out for them. Or maybe it has to do with perspective. I don’t know. All I know is that I’ve found it difficult to understand what the hell is going on in this world sometimes. These are the top three things I hate about living in the current age:

Individualism. Ever notice how self-centered we all are? I think that in the 21st century especially humans have become ultra self-focused. A little bit of individualism is fine and even necessary for survival. But is there a point where we can all agree that maybe we’re taking it too far? For instance, some of us are so focused on our own lives, that we literally walk by homeless people and don’t care about what they’re going through. I can’t say I always give money, but I do try to at least say hello, or smile, or acknowledge the person. I’ve heard from so many people that it’s our own choices that lead to our circumstances in life, that I often wonder what kind of shit these people have been taught and why they honestly believe this. It’s just NOT TRUE. People end up in shitty circumstances often not as a result of their own choices, but because shit happens TO them. Life has this way of taking the concept of individual effort and laughing in its face. And yet, most of us believe in individualism so much, that we devote our entire lives to ourselves, and then find ourselves lonely, or empty and unfulfilled in the end. We need others. We need communities and families and friendships. We need to devote ourselves to helping others, to caring for others, because that’s why we’re all here on this planet, together. We’re not on our own individual planet, even though we often act like we are.

Consumerism. If there’s one thing I hate about being human, it’s this desire for stuff. How much stuff do I need before I can feel fulfilled? When has that trip to the mall ever made me feel better about myself or my life? Never. So why do I keep shopping? Why do I feel like it’s necessary to buy other people presents just because someone some time ago said we should on various holidays/events? Why do so many friendships and relationships revolve around buying each other stuff? Why do these advertisements keep hypnotizing us into believing that the more things you buy, the happier you’ll be. Why do we feel like owning a car or house will make us happy? And once we do own them, why do we feel we need better cars or houses? Why are our ideas of success so tied to money and acquisition of things? Why have we let ourselves BUY into these ideas of success and materialism and wealth and status? Why do so many of us give up our health, our relationships, our friendships, our dreams, in order to pursue what might lead to more wealth and more stuff? Does it ever stop? Hell, I’d say it stops when we die but before that, you gotta make a will and after that, someone’s gotta pay for your grave and tombstone. It’s all about the paper.

Disingenuous behaviour. I don’t think anyone is perfect. I myself have been disingenuous too. But when I see it in almost everyone, all the time, I start to question if there is anyone genuine left. What I think of as genuine behaviour is someone who speaks and acts from their heart. Someone who means what they say. Someone who’s straight forward, honest, and real. Someone like Tupac, who was always passionate about what he thought, and truly believed in it. Genuine people don’t try to impress others. They don’t fake politeness. They don’t fake anything. You may not agree with them, but at least they’re being real and honest. I can’t stand it when someone clearly has an issue with me, but pretends to like me for whatever reason. I don’t need fake friends in my life. Just tell me you don’t like me and move on. I also can’t stand how many people only want you in their life when you can add some benefit to theirs. They have this sly way of luring you into their lives and making you think they truly like you, when really they just want you around for the moment, because you can add something to their lives. I’ve become better at identifying these people but it always hurts when I find out someone I thought I could trust is far from being trustworthy.

Unfortunately, these are pervasive themes in my life. I try my best to navigate in a world I don’t always understand and writing about it is one way I do so.